Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1476228
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 4 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M on your team who are 1,000-point scor- ers at one time, you've got some dudes who can put the ball in the bucket." The looming question is whether the tradeoff — a little more offense, maybe a little less defense — will produce differ- ent results for Penn State next season. A year ago, the Nittany Lions led the Big Ten in scoring defense during confer- ence play, holding opponents to 66.2 points per game. Now, though, they won't have Harrar protecting the paint, and the 6-foot-9 forward will surely be missed. With Harrar gone, the team will have to reassemble its frontcourt from a col- lection of newcomers that includes the 6-8, 240-pound Henn, as well as true freshmen Njie (6-10, 235) and Lilley (6-10, 260). One piece of good news for Penn State is that Njie has already made strides physically. The Centerville, Ohio, native had been listed at 205 pounds through- out his recruitment but has bulked up in recent months. Shrewsberry has been pleased with the hard work that Njie and Lilley have been putting in. The next step for the Nittany Lions is to translate those gains into victories. They are set to face a Big Ten sched- ule that will be as formidable as ever this coming season and are determined to build on a 14-17 finish last year in which they were more competitive on a nightly basis than many observers had anticipated given the roster rebuild that Shrewsberry undertook ahead of his first season. "This time last year, I was like, 'Man, I hope we can put five guys out there on the court and play,'" Shrewsberry said. "We should have optimism in terms of what we're doing. That's what I'm building towards. "Now, I still say at the same time, we haven't accomplished anything. Play- ing hard is not accomplishing anything. Going 14-17 is not accomplishing any- thing. How we went about it was cool. We played close games, but I want to win them." In a few months, Penn State will get that opportunity. ■ Myles Dread Is Making Progress After Offseason Surgery Myles Dread stood a few steps from Penn State men's basketball assistant coach Adam Fisher. Taking in a practice at the Bryce Jordan Center in mid-July, the super senior guard cheered on his teammates while they battled through live action. Having undergone offseason shoulder sur- gery, Dread is facing a battle of a different variety this summer. He's still rehabbing but is back shooting and participating in non- contact drill work. Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry said Dread doesn't yet have a timeline for a return to contact. "Myles had his surgery, and it's a long pro- cess. I don't know if I can get into the details of everything, but it was a pretty significant injury," Shrewsberry said. "He is back. He's doing noncontact drills, he's jumping into drills when he can, and then he's leading from the side when he can." Dread has plenty of experience to draw upon as he takes on a leadership role. Dur- ing the past four seasons, the Detroit native has appeared in 117 games for the Nittany Lions, including 79 starts. He has averaged 26.7 minutes per game over that span, knocking down 232 career 3-pointers, the fifth-highest total in the program's history. Meanwhile, Dread's defensive impact has expanded through his years as a Nittany Lion. He's averaged 2.7 rebounds per game in his four seasons at PSU, and last year he totaled a career-high 95 steals. With that in mind, Shrewsberry said much of the fundamental learning that is taking place in the program this summer — very much a product of having five true fresh- men on the roster — isn't critically impor- tant to Dread's development. "It's a process in terms of what he's do- ing," Shrewsberry said. "He's shooting jumpers; he's working out. He's just not doing the contact stuff, and that's OK. "It's July. I don't have a timetable of when he gets back full or when he'll be able to start doing contact stuff, but Myles is a fifth-year senior. He doesn't need to box out to know, 'Hey, I need to box out every possession.' "There are things that he doesn't need to do. [Freshmen] Kebba [Njie] and Meech [Demetrius Lilley], need to do it physically to get it into their heads that this is what they need to do. Myles doesn't need to do that. He'll be fine when it's time." With the Nittany Lions set to begin their season in early November, with an October start to pre- season practice, Dread has another two months to continue his rehabilitation and progress. Until that day comes, though, Shrewsberry is confident that the player who returns will be able to contribute to the Nittany Lions' success this season. "I don't have a timetable of 'He's going to be cleared, 100 percent full-go on this date.' Whenever they tell me he's ready, he'll be ready," Shrewsberry said. "I'm not worried about him." — Nate Bauer Last season, Dread played in all 31 games with 20 starts and posted 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. PHOTO BY THOMAS FRANK CARR